Methodological Approaches to Formulating the Islamic Economic System
Accepting the aforementioned presuppositions, we now turn to methodological approaches. Broadly, there are two formal views and one informal view in this domain:
First Approach:
Perhaps the leading pioneer of this approach is Martyr [Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir] al-Sadr, who affirmed the existence of an economic system and the necessity of its derivation. Regarding the third presupposition (the specific methodology), he provides a framework where the jurist (faqīh) derives the system through two modes of deduction:
- The jurist investigates issues at an atomic (discrete) level and derives the overarching system.
- If confronted with methodological or substantive impasses preventing direct derivation, the jurist may construct the system by adopting the authoritative legal rulings (fatwas) of other qualified jurists, even if he does not personally subscribe to those specific opinions.
Critique of Martyr al-Sadr’s Approach:
I have critiqued this approach in my book, Fiqh va Maslahat (Jurisprudence and Public Interest). One fundamental flaw is: if a jurist deems a particular ruling incorrect/invalid, how can it be incorporated into the normative system? If it is genuinely an Islamic economic system, its constitutive components cannot be un-Islamic.
Second Approach:
While no scholar has explicitly formalized this, it can be conceptualized as a three-tiered derivation. This method posits that through discrete (atomic) derivation, one derives sub-systems (micro-systems), and by applying an analogous atomic process across these sub-systems, one arrives at the macro-system.
The Preferred Approach
Our proposed approach posits that we must accomplish the entire task through a single, unified derivation process. Consequently, Islam does possess an economic system, its derivation is obligatory, and the method entails a single derivation; however, this derivation requires a specific and distinct methodology.
Four Foundational Steps for Derivation
- Assessing the Capacity of the Sources of Derivation: We must recognize the inherent capacity embedded within intellect (ʿaql), custom (ʿurf), and public interest (maṣlaḥah). Reason is utilized not only in its independent operational capacity but also in its interpretive capacity.
- Expanding the Problems of Uṣūl al-Fiqh: We are compelled to expand the principles of jurisprudence by formalizing the problems of higher objectives (maqāṣid) and public interest. We must view the evidentiary texts in a hierarchical structure.
- Utilizing the Capacity of the General Sources of Contracts: One must look beyond mere maxims to primary evidentiary texts (asnād-i ʿām), such as “Fulfill the contracts” and “People have dominion over their property,” recognizing their broad scope for intangible assets and rights.
- Reforming the Minimalist Perspective: We must discard the prevalent approach of “adopting the certain minimum” (qadr-i mutayaqqan-gīrī) which restricts economic contracts to outdated paradigms.
Summary and Conclusion
The derivation of the Islamic economic system requires a specialized methodology. If capable jurists engage with this paradigm—by critiquing alleged consensuses and conceptualizing both aḥkām (rulings) and maqāṣid (higher objectives)—they can arrive at a system that offers a substantial alternative to Socialist, Capitalist, or mixed economic models.
